Garment hanger



Dec. 3, 1968 ARNOLD I 3,414,176

GARMENT HANGER Filed July 15, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet l 1958 A. M. ARNOLD 3,414,176

GARMENT HANGER Filed July 13, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 3, 1968 A. M. ARNOLD 3,414,176

GARMENT HANGER INVENTOR. ANTHONY M. ARNOLD United States Patent 3,414,176 GARMENT HANGER Anthony M. Arnold, 5951 Balsan St., Apt. 306, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Filed July 13, 1965, Ser. No. 471,599 Claims. (Cl. 223-88) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A garment hanger having a rigid bottom member with integral rigid high, rounded, short end portions curving upwardly and inwardly toward each other and having spaced free ends. A flexible soft rubber cord curves smoothly between said spaced free ends and is connected thereto, and a hook is connected to the rubber cord. For storage, the hook may be bent down and inserted between the bottom member and another rubber cord stretched below the bottom member.

This invention relates to garment hangers.

Garment hangers have in the past usually been made entirely of rigid materials, such as wood, wire, or hard plastic. The shapes of these hangers generally tended to be different from that of the garments (for example suit jackets) that they were intended to support, and consequently, wrinkling and distortion occurred in garments hung upon them. In addition, since the upper surfaces of these prior art hangers were constructed of relatively smooth material, the garments hung upon them tended to slide down their upper surfaces, increasing the distortion and wrinkling problems. In addition, it was difficult to hang clothes such as wide necked dresses, upon these prior art hangers for the reason that the straps supporting the dresses tended to slide down and off the hanger.

A further disadvantage of the prior art hangers referred to was that they were bulky, and consequently they were difficult to pack in suitcases or to store in general.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger that has improved hanging and storage capability. To this end, the invention comprises a garment hanger having a rigid bottom member, a top cord member joined to said bottom member, and a support member joined to said top member, said hanger being of predetermined length and of predetermined height between said bottom and top members when unstressed; said bottom member having a rigid linear central portion, rigid first and second end portions integral with said central portion, said end portions curving upwardly from said central portion and inwardly toward each other and having first and second spaced free ends respectively, the spacing of said ends above said bottom member being approximately half said predetermined height, the distance by which said end portions extend inwardly being small in relation to the length of said hanger so that the spacing between said first and second ends is nearly equal to the length of said hanger, said end portions thus defining high, short, rounded, rigid ends for said hanger; said top cord member being a soft flexible, elongated member having an even and continuous upper surface, said upper surface having a high coefficient of friction to reduce the likelihood of garmentssliding thereon, said top member being of a length slightly greater than the spacing between said first and second ends and curving smoothly between said first and second ends; and means connecting the ends of said top member to said first and second ends and defining abutment surfaces projecting above the upper surface of said top member for preventing garments from sliding past said abutment surfaces.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following disclosure, in which the "ice embodiments disclosed are illustrative only, the broad scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a hanger according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic view of the hanger of FIGURE 1 shown supporting a garment;

FIGURE 3 is a view of the hanger of FIGURE 1 in a configuration convenient for storage;

FIGURE 4 is a view of a portion of the hanger of FIG- URE 1 illustrating the method of attachment of a bottom cord thereto;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of another form of top member for a hanger according to the present invention;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a portion of another embodiment of a hanger according to the present invent1on;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of still another embogiment of a hanger according to the present invention; an

FIG. 8 is a view showing the crimped connection between the top member and bottom member of the hanger of FIGS. 1 to 4.

Referring firstly to FIGURE 1, there is shown an illustrative garment hanger in accordance with the precent invention. The garment hanger, indicated generally at 2, is shown as it might appear lying unstressed on a flat horizontal surface such as a floor or table. The hanger includes a rigid tubular bottom member 3 of non-oxidizing material such as anodized aluminum or the like. The bottom member 3 has a central linear portion 4, and end portions 6 and 8 respectively. The end portions 6 and 8 are curved upwardly from the central portion 4 and inwardly towards each other to terminate at ends 10 and 12 respectively.

Extending between the end portions 6 and 8 is a flexible top member 14 of a material such as neoprene rubber or the like. The top member 14 is connected to the ends 10 and 12 by any suitable method and in FIGURE 1 the ends 10 and 12 are shown crimped onto the top member 14. (See also FIG. 8, which shows in more expanded scale the crimped connection between the top member 14 and the end 12 of end portion 8 of the bottom member.) It will be seen that the diameter of end portions 6 and 8 is larger than the diameter of the top member 14, so that the crimped ends 10 and 12 define abutment surfaces against which garments which may slide down the top member 14 tend to bear. Thus the crimped ends 10 and 12 tend to prevent garments such as wide necked dresses, the straps of which lie on the top member 14, from sliding off the hanger.

Connected to the centre of the top member 14 is a hook member 16 for supporting the hanger.

The bottom member 3 is provided at its lower extremities with respective holding members 18 and 20 between which is stretched a cord 22 of resilient flexible material, such as neoprene rubber, the cord 22 being in close proximity to the bottom member 4. The cord 22 thus in effect provides a clamping arrangement for hanging skirts or trousers or the like beneath the hanger 2.

Reference is next made to FIGURE 2, where the hanger 2 is shown in the shape that it would typically acquire when supporting a suit jacket or coat shown in dotted lines at 24. Since the rigid end portions 6 and 8 are, over most of their length, curved relatively steeply with respect to the centre portion 4 of the bottom member 3, they assist in supporting the shoulders of the garment 24. The portions of the top member 14 indicated by reference numerals 26 have become positioned at a relatively shallow angle to the horizontal, and in fact, may tend to become slightly concave as viewed from above. The centre portion 28 of the top member 14 has been forced into a convex configuration as viewed from above, due to the fact that the bulk of the weight of the garment rests on the portions 26 of the top member 14 and on the end portions 6 and 8, thus pulling the ends of the hanger down with respect to the central portion 23 of the top member 14.

It will be noted that the flexible top member 14 thus conforms itself to some extent in accordance with the weight distribution imposed by the garment 24. For the top member 14 to be able to perform this function, it is preferred that its length between the ends and 12, as indicated in FIGURE 1, should be greater than the linear distance d between the ends 10 and 12. For example, in a suitable hanger built in accordance with the present invention, the distance d was /2 inches and the length d was 16 /2 inches. Of course, even further length will be required for the top member 14 for insertion in the end portions 6 and 8 of the bottom member before crimping.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the end portion 6 adjacent its end 10 (and similarly the end portion 8) is inclined at an angle 0 with respect to the horizontal central portion 4 of the bottom member 3. The purpose of this upward and inward inclination is to permit the top member 14 to conform more readily to the shape of a garment to be hung on the hanger 2, and also to reduce stresses in the crimped connection between the rigid end portions 6 and 8 and the top member 14. In the hanger mentioned above as being built in accordance with the present invention, it was found that a value for the angle 0 of approximately 40 degrees gave satisfactory results. This value is not particularly critical and other values for the angle 0 may also be used.

It will be seen from the drawings that the distance by which the end portions 6 and 8 extend inwardly is small in relation to the overall length of the hanger. In other words, the spacing between the ends 10 and 12 is nearly equal to the overall length of the hanger. In addition, it will be seen that the spacing of the ends 10, 12 above the bottom member 4 is approximately equal to one-half the height of the hanger (excluding the hook 16 from consideration), with the hanger unstressed. These dimensions result in high, short, rigid, rounded ends for the hanger, providing improved conformity of the hanger with garments hung thereon.

Hangers made in accordance with the present invention are relatively easy to store and to pack in suitcases. The hook 16 can simply be twisted down as shown in FIGURE 3 and hooked under the lower cord 22. In this configuration the hanger occupies little space and in addition, since the top member 14 is flexible and can assume odd shapes, the hanger lends itself to convenient packing in variously shaped spaces.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the mounting member which holds one end of the lower cord 22 is V-shaped and clips into a slot in the bottom member 3. The other mounting member 18 is connected to the bottom member 3 in the same manner. Thus, the lower cord 22 may be removed for replacement or the like. It is apparent that other methods may be used for detachably connecting the end mounting members 18 and 20 to the bottom member 3. Alternatively, mounting members 18 and 20 may be permanently connected to the bottom member 3, if removal of the cord 22 is not desired.

The flexible top member 14 has been described as being made of neoprene rubber. The properties of neoprene rubber may be found described, for example, in the Hand Book of Chemistry and Physics, 36th edition, at pages 1466 to 1468. It will be apparent that other materials may be used, so long as the top member 14 is sufficiently flexible that little force is required to distort it longitudinally, and so long as its surface has suflicient irregularity that there will be a relatively high coefficient of friction between it and garments hung thereon. The term surface irregularity as herein used refers to irregularity on a very small scale, almost a microscopic scale, this being the type of irregularity that is commonly understood to be necessary for a high coeflicient of friction. In other words, it is desirable that at least the upper surface of the flexible top member 14 not be smooth or polished since this would tend to cause garments to slide down the top member. It will also be apparent that the top member 14 must have reasonable strength, to support heavy garments, and should be non-marking and nonoxidizing.

By way of example, other suitable materials that could be used are roughened flexible plastic materials, suitably woven cord or rope, roughened nylon cord, leather, or rubberized flexible materials. The cross-section of a suitable top member 14' falling Within this last mentioned class is illustrated in FIGURE 5. The member 14 is shown as having an elliptical cross-section, its breadth being increased from that of the round cord 14 shown in FIG- URES 1 to 3 in order to support the weight of a garment across a larger area of the garment. The main part of the top member 14 is made of a flexible but smooth material 32 such as smooth nylon cord or the like. However a coating 34 of rubber or a similarly sticky material is provided at the upper surface of upper member 14', in order to reduce the tendency of clothes to slide down the hanger.

The flexible top member may also be of rectangular cross-section, as shown in FIGURE 6. In FIGURE 6 there is illustrated a hanger 36 having a bottom member 38 which includes a narrow central portion 40 and widened end portions 42. (Only one such end portion 42 is shown in FIGURE 6.) A rectangular flexible top member 44, typically of neoprene rubber, is joined to the end portions 42 by any suitable means, and a hook supporting member 46 is fastened to the top member 44 with the assistance of washers 48. The widened end portions 42 and the wide top member 44 improve the support for heavy garments such as suit jackets and sweaters.

It will be realized that the top member 44 could be tapered along its length if desired, being narrower at its centre point, i.e. near the hook member 46, and broader near the end portions 42. The manufacturing costs of such tapered strap would, however, generally be higher than for a top member of uniform cross-section throughout its length.

Reference is next made to FIGURE 7 where there is shown a part of a hanger 50 having a flexible top member 52 of nylon cord or the like, coated with rubber. At each end of the cord 52 is formed an enlargement 54, here shown in the shape of a ball. Each end portion 56 of the hanger (only one such end portion is shown in FIGURE 7) is provided with a slot 58 in its lower surface, the slot 58 having a width approximately the same as the diameter of cord 52 and opening rearwardly into an enlarged opening 60 of a breadth just slightly less than the diameter of the ball 54. The top member 52 is connected to the end portions 56 simply by forcing the ball 54 into the opening 60, in which case the pressure exerted by the compressed ball against the walls of the opening 60 will hold the top member 52 clipped into position in the hanger. Garments hung upon the hanger will force the top member 52 into tighter connection With the end portions 56. The end portions 56 are conveniently made of rigid plastic or the like.

The arrangement of FIGURE 7 thus provides a simple method of connecting the flexible top member 52 to the remainder of the hanger and also makes it possible to replace either the top member or the bottom member of the hanger when one breaks, without replacing the other part. In addition, since the hanger disassembles relatively easily, the arrangement is convenient for packing and storing.

If desired, and as shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 4, a wick 62 of absorbent material may be placed inside the tubular bottom member 3 of the hanger 2. The wick 62 may be soaked with perfume, or moth repellant, or the like, to assist in maintaining garments placed on the hanger in sweet smelling or moth free condition. Vapor from the wick 62 will seep out through the slot 30, and additional pinholes (not shown) may be provided in the bottom member 3 if desired, for passage of vapor from the wick. It will be appreciated that the wick 62 need not extend the full length of the linear central portion 4 of the bottom member 3, but could consist of a short length of impregnated material adjacent each slot 30.

Alternatively, the wick could be dispensed with and a quantity of solid perfumed or moth repellant material could be inserted in the bottom member 3. Such material is preferably inserted before the bottom member 3 is bent to shape (this applies also to the wick 62) but if the slot 30 is made large enough, the perfumed or moth repellant material could instead be inserted through the slot 30. Additional perfume can also be dripped through the slot 30.

I claim:

1. A garment hanger having a rigid bottom member, a top cord member joined to said bottom member, and a support member joined to said top member, said hanger being of predetermined length and of predetermined height between said bottom and top members when unstressed; said bottom member having a rigid linear central portion, rigid first and second end portions integral with said central portion, said end portions curving upwardly from said central portion and inwardly toward each other and having first and second spaced free ends respectively, the spacing of said ends above said bottom member being approximately half said predetermined height, the distance by which said end portions extend inwardly being small in relation to the length of said hanger so that the spacing between said first and second ends is nearly equal to the length of said hanger, said end portions thus defining high, short, rigid rounded ends for said hanger; said top cord member being a soft, flexible, elongated member having an even and continuous upper surface, said upper surface having a high coefficient of friction to reduce the likelihood of garments sliding thereon, said top member being of a length slightly greater than the spacing between said first and second ends and curving smoothly between said first and second ends; and means connecting the ends of said top member to said first and second ends and defining abutment surfaces projecting above the upper surface of said top member for preventing garments from sliding past said abutment surfaces.

2. A garment hanger according to claim 1 including a flexible resilient lower cord member stretched below said linear portion of said bottom member, and means connecting the ends of said lower cord member near respective ends of said linear portion of said bottom member with said lower cord member closely adjacent the bottom surface of said bottom member, said support member being a hook, so that said hanger may be folded for storage by bending said hook downwardly toward said bottom member and inserting said hook between said lower cord member and said bottom member.

3. A hanger according to claim 2 wherein said top member is neoprene rubber.

4. A hanger according to claim 3 wherein said bottom member is anodized aluminum.

5. A hanger according to claim 4 wherein said top cord member is circular in cross-section, said end portions of said bottom member being tubular and greater in diameter than said top member, the ends of said top member being inserted into said end portions of said bottom member, said means connecting the ends of said top member to said first and second ends being radially inwardly directed crimps in said first and second ends.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 711,145 10/1902 Wright 22386 1,591,334 7/1926 Paddington 223-89 1,794,016 2/1931 Henry 223--86 2,153,905 4/1939 Yankovitch 223-88 2,351,523 6/1944 Langer 22387 X 2,404,959 7/1946 Greenberg 223--89 2,420,116 5/1947 Walters 223-89 2,866,583 12/1958 Batts 223-88 2,875,931 3/1959 Monteleone et a1. 22390 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,267,500 9/1960 France.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

G. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner. 

